Michael R. Copeland wrote: > Yes, I could fire up the interactive mode and play with some > statements...but I consider that sort of thing for programming neophytes > or experimenting with specific issues.
The interactive interpreter is *the fastest* way to learn, expert, novice, or somewhere in-between. Let me do a quick count of the number of instances I have running just on the machine I'm at right now...ok, only 1, but that's because I just switched over to a Mac at work and it doesn't support multiple desktops--yet. I basically test just about every idea I have in the interactive interpreter before I lay it down in a text file. First, I want to develop a > simple Windows application, and because of the plethora of "stuff" the > Python world offers, I don't know where to begin. Pseudocode (~ python code). > For example, what basic, easy-to-use interface might I start with to > build a simple text file parsing and analysis program? That is, I'd > like to start with a simple Windows shell that prompts for a file name, > processes it, and then displays some result. #! /usr/bin/env python def main(): file_name = prompt_for_name() result = process(file_name) display(result) def prompt_for_name(): [fill in here] [etc.] > I am certainly impressed with the apparent experience and openness of > the regular players here, but the discussions here (and in > c.l.p.announce) truly presume knowledge and experience with Python I > don't yet have. Yes, for even a very experienced programmer, entering > the Python world is very daunting - but I want to get started. > Please advise. TIA Here's your recipe: 1. begin coding until you hit a wall 2. read official tutorial until you figure out a solution 3. experiment in interactive interpreter 4. goto 1. I know this sounds obvious, but its the best way to jumpstart. James -- http://mail.python.org/mailman/listinfo/python-list
